Temperature setting method of thermal processing plate, computer-readable recording medium recording program thereon, and temperature setting apparatus for thermal processing plate

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a thermal plate of a heating unit is divided into a plurality of thermal plate regions, and a temperature can be set for each of the thermal plate regions. A temperature correction value for adjusting a temperature within the thermal plate can be set for each of the thermal plate regions of the thermal plate. The line widths within the substrate which has been subjected to a photolithography process are measured, and, from an in-plane tendency of the measured line widths, an in-plane tendency improvable by temperature correction and an unimprovable in-plane tendency are calculated using a Zernike polynomial. An average remaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement obtained in advance is added to the unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate an in-plane tendency of the line widths within the substrate after change of temperature setting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a temperature setting method of athermal processing plate, a computer-readable recording medium recordinga program thereon, and a temperature setting apparatus for a thermalprocessing plate.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a photolithography process in manufacturing, for example, asemiconductor device, for example, a resist coating treatment ofapplying a resist solution onto a wafer to form a resist film, exposureprocessing of exposing the resist film into a predetermined pattern,heating processing of accelerating the chemical reaction in the resistfilm after exposure (post-exposure baking), and developing treatment ofdeveloping the exposed resist film are performed in sequence, so thatthe series of wafer processing forms a predetermined resist pattern onthe wafer.

For example, the heating processing such as the above-describedpost-exposure baking is usually performed in a heating processingapparatus. The heating processing apparatus includes a thermal plate formounting and heating the wafer thereon. The thermal plate has a heaterembedded therein which generates heat by power feeding, and the heatgenerated by the heater adjusts the thermal plate to a predeterminedtemperature.

The thermal processing temperature in the above-described heatingprocessing greatly affects the line width of the resist pattern to befinally formed on the wafer. Hence, to strictly control the temperaturewithin the wafer during heating, the thermal plate of theabove-described heating processing apparatus is divided into a pluralityof regions, and an independent heater is embedded in each of the regionsto adjust the temperature for each of the regions.

It is known that if the temperature adjustment for all of the regions ofthe above-described thermal plate is performed at the same settemperature, the temperature may vary within the wafer on the thermalplate, for example, due to the difference in thermal resistance betweenthe regions, resulting in variations in the line width of the resistpattern. For this reason, a temperature correction value (a temperatureoffset value) is set for each of the regions of the thermal plate tofinely adjust the in-plane temperature of the thermal plate (seeJapanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-143850).

For setting the above-described temperature correction value, usually,the current line widths within the wafer are first measured, and anoperator sets appropriate temperature correction values according tohis/her experience and knowledge in consideration of measurementresults. Thereafter, the line widths within the wafer are measuredagain, and the operator changes the temperature correction values inconsideration of the line width measurement results. After operations ofthe line width measurement and the change of the temperature correctionvalues are repeated through a try and error process, the operator endsthe setting of the temperature correction values at a point in time whenthe operator judges that an appropriate line width have been obtained.

However, it is difficult to judge whether or not the temperaturecorrection values at a point in time are appropriate values to provideappropriate line widths halfway through the temperature settingoperation in the above-described temperature setting, and therefore theoperator ends the temperature setting operation at the point in timewhen the operator judges that the line widths have become appropriate byhis/her subjectivity. As a result, an appropriate temperature settingmay not have been made, thus causing variations, among operators, inline width within the wafer after the temperature setting. Further,since an appropriate line width to be converged is not correctly known,the operator sometimes performs change of the temperature setting anumber of times through a try and error process, thus taking a long timefor the temperature setting operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in consideration of the abovepoints, and its object is to accurately estimate processing states of asubstrate such as a wafer after change of temperature setting intemperature setting of a thermal processing plate such as a thermalplate, and perform the temperature setting of the thermal processingplate in a short time and properly.

The present invention is a temperature setting method of a thermalprocessing plate for mounting and thermally processing a substratethereon, the thermal processing plate being divided into a plurality ofregions, a temperature being settable for each of the regions, and atemperature correction value for adjusting an in-plane temperature beingsettable for each of the regions, the method including the followingsteps.

The method includes the steps of measuring processing states within thesubstrate for the substrate which has been subjected to a series ofsubstrate processing including the thermal processing, and calculating,from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processingstates, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing the temperaturecorrection value for each of the regions of the thermal processing plateand an unimprovable in-plane tendency; and adding an average remainingtendency of the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement to thecalculated unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate an in-planetendency of the processing states after change of the temperaturecorrection values for the thermal processing plate.

The average remaining tendency is calculated through the following firstto fifth steps.

A first step: measuring processing states within the substrate for thesubstrate which has been subjected to substrate processing, andcalculating, from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measuredprocessing states, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing thetemperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate.

A second step: calculating, from the calculated improvable in-planetendency, the temperature correction value for each of the regions ofthe thermal processing plate to bring the improvable in-plane tendencyto 0 (ZERO) using a calculation model obtained in advance from acorrelation between the improvable in-plane tendency and the temperaturecorrection values.

A third step: changing a set temperature of each of the regions of thethermal processing plate to the calculated temperature correction value.

A fourth step: calculating a remaining tendency of the improvablein-plane tendency after improvement by changing the set temperature tothe temperature correction value.

A fifth step: averaging the remaining tendencies calculated in aplurality of number of times of performance of the first to fourthsteps.

According to the present invention, the improvable in-plane tendency andthe unimprovable in-plane tendency are calculated from the measuredin-plane tendency of the substrate, and the average remaining tendencyof the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement obtained inadvance is added to the unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate thein-plane tendency after the temperature setting. If the improvablein-plane tendency can be completely brought to 0 (ZERO) by the change ofthe temperature setting of the thermal processing plate, the remainingunimprovable in-plane tendency is the in-plane tendency afterimprovement by the change of the temperature setting. Actually, however,the improvable in-plane tendency cannot be completely brought to 0(ZERO) even if the change of the temperature setting is performed. Theremaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendency remaining afterimprovement is averaged, and the average remaining tendency is added tothe unimprovable in-plane tendency, thus making it possible to extremelyaccurately estimate the in-plane tendency of the processing states ofthe substrate after change of the temperature setting. As a result, thetemperature setting of the thermal processing plate can be performed ina short time and properly.

In calculating the remaining tendency after improvement in the presentinvention, the processing states within the substrate may be measuredfor a substrate which has been subjected to substrate processing afterimprovement, and, from the in-plane tendency of the substrate of themeasured processing states, an improvable in-plane tendency may becalculated and regarded as the remaining tendency after improvement.

Further, in calculating the improvable in-plane tendency in the presentinvention, the in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measuredprocessing states may be decomposed to a plurality of in-plane tendencycomponents using a Zernike polynomial, and in-plane tendency componentsimprovable by changing the temperature correction value for each of theregions of the thermal processing plate of the plurality of in-planetendency components may be added to calculate the improvable in-planetendency.

Further, the unimprovable in-plane tendency may be calculated bysubtracting the calculated improvable in-plane tendency from thein-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processing states.

In calculating the temperature correction value for each of the regionsof the thermal processing plate in the present invention, thetemperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate to bring each of the improvable in-plane tendencycomponents to 0 (ZERO) may be calculated using a calculation modelindicating a correlation between change amounts of the plurality ofin-plane tendency components within the substrate and the temperaturecorrection values.

The series of substrate processing is, for example, processing offorming a resist pattern on the substrate in a photolithography process.Further, the processing states within the substrate are, for example,line widths of the resist pattern. Further, the thermal processing isheating processing performed after exposure processing and beforedeveloping treatment.

The above-described temperature setting method of a thermal processingplate may be, for example, computer-programmed and stored in acomputer-readable recording medium

The present invention according to another aspect is a temperaturesetting apparatus for a thermal processing plate for mounting andthermally processing a substrate thereon, the thermal processing platebeing divided into a plurality of regions, a temperature being settablefor each of the regions, and a temperature correction value foradjusting an in-plane temperature of the thermal processing plate beingsettable for each of the regions of the thermal processing plate, andthe temperature setting apparatus may include a computing unit forperforming the following processes.

Specifically, the computing unit measures processing states within thesubstrate for the substrate which has been subjected to a series ofsubstrate processing including the thermal processing, and calculates,from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processingstates, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing the temperaturecorrection value for each of the regions of the thermal processing plateand an unimprovable in-plane tendency; and adds an average remainingtendency of the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement to thecalculated unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate an in-planetendency of the processing states after change of the temperaturecorrection values for the thermal processing plate.

When calculating the average remaining tendency, a first step ofmeasuring processing states within the substrate for the substrate whichhas been subjected to substrate processing, and calculating, from anin-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processing states, anin-plane tendency improvable by changing the temperature correctionvalue for each of the regions of the thermal processing plate; a secondstep of calculating, from the calculated improvable in-plane tendency,the temperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate to bring the improvable in-plane tendency to 0 (ZERO)using a calculation model obtained in advance from a correlation betweenthe improvable in-plane tendency and the temperature correction values;a third step of changing a set temperature of each of the regions of thethermal processing plate to the calculated temperature correction value;a fourth step of calculating a remaining tendency of the improvablein-plane tendency after improvement by changing the set temperature tothe temperature correction value; and a fifth step of averaging theremaining tendencies calculated in a plurality of number of times ofperformance of the first to fourth steps, are performed.

According to the present invention, the processing states of a substrateafter change of temperature setting of a thermal processing plate can beaccurately estimated, so that the temperature setting of a thermalprocessing plate can be performed in a short time and properly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configuration of acoating and developing treatment system;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing treatment system inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing treatment system inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a thermal plate in aPEB unit;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the outline of a configuration ofa line width measuring unit;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a temperaturesetting apparatus;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the in-planetendency of line widths by the line width measurements is decomposedinto a plurality of in-plane tendency components using a Zernikepolynomial;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing contents to calculate animprovable in-plane tendency by adding up improvable in-plane tendencycomponents;

FIG. 9 is a determinant showing an example of a calculation model;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory showing contents to calculate an averageremaining tendency by averaging a plurality of remaining tendencies;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing contents to calculate anunimprovable in-plane tendency by subtracting an improvable in-planetendency from a current measured in-plane tendency;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing contents to estimate an in-planetendency after change of temperature setting by adding the averageremaining tendency to the unimprovable in-plane tendency;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of calculating the averageremaining tendency of a temperature setting process;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing measurement points of the linewidths within the wafer;

FIG. 15 is a relational expression of the calculation model into whichthe adjustment amounts for the in-plane tendency components andtemperature correction values are substituted;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process of estimating the in-planetendency after the change of temperature setting of the temperaturesetting process;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a variation tendency of linewidth measured values;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing a gradient component in anX-direction of the variation tendency of the line width measured values;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing a gradient component in aY-direction of the variation tendency of the line width measured values;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing a curvature component of thevariation tendency of the line width measured values; and

FIG. 21 is a graph showing a case when 3 a of the improvable in-planetendency exceeds a threshold value and a case when it does not exceed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configurationof a coating and developing treatment system 1 incorporating atemperature setting apparatus for a thermal processing plate accordingto the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developingtreatment system 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1.

The coating and developing treatment system 1 has, as shown in FIG. 1, aconfiguration in which, for example, a cassette station 2 fortransferring, for example, 25 wafers W per cassette as a unit from/tothe outside into/from the coating and developing treatment system 1 andtransferring the wafers W into/out of a cassette C; a processing station3 including a plurality of various kinds of processing and treatmentunits, which are multi-tiered, each for performing predeterminedprocessing or treatment in a manner of single wafer processing in thephotolithography process; and an interface section 4 for delivering thewafers W to/from a not-shown aligner provided adjacent to the processingstation 3, are integrally connected together.

In the cassette station 2, a cassette mounting table 5 is provided andconfigured such that a plurality of cassettes C can be mounted thereonin a line in an X-direction (a top-to-bottom direction in FIG. 1). Inthe cassette station 2, a wafer transfer body 7 is provided which ismovable in the X-direction on a transfer path 6. The wafer transfer body7 is also movable in an arrangement direction of the wafers W housed inthe cassette C (a Z-direction; the vertical direction), and thus canselectively access the wafers W in each of the cassettes C arranged inthe X-direction.

The wafer transfer body 7 is rotatable in a θ-direction around a Z-axis,and can access a temperature regulating unit 60 and a transition unit 61included in a later-described third processing unit group G3 on theprocessing station 3 side.

The processing station 3 adjacent to the cassette station 2 includes,for example, five processing unit groups G1 to G5 in each of which aplurality of processing and treatment units are multi-tiered. On theside of the negative direction in the X-direction (the downwarddirection in FIG. 1) in the processing station 3, the first processingunit group G1 and the second processing unit group G2 are placed inorder from the cassette station 2 side. On the side of the positivedirection in the X-direction (the upward direction in FIG. 1) in theprocessing station 3, the third processing unit group G3, the fourthprocessing unit group G4, and the fifth processing unit group G5 areplaced in order from the cassette station 2 side. Between the thirdprocessing unit group G3 and the fourth processing unit group G4, afirst transfer unit 10 is provided. The first transfer unit 10 canselectively access the processing and treatment units in the firstprocessing unit group G1, the third processing unit group G3, and thefourth processing unit group G4 and transfer the wafer W to them.Between the fourth processing unit group G4 and the fifth processingunit group G5, a second transfer unit 11 is provided. The secondtransfer unit 11 can selectively access the processing and treatmentunits in the second processing unit group G2, the fourth processing unitgroup G4, and the fifth processing unit group G5 and transfer the waferW to them.

In the first processing unit group G1, as shown in FIG. 2, solutiontreatment units each for supplying a predetermined liquid to the wafer Wto perform treatment, for example, resist coating units 20, 21, and 22each for applying a resist solution to the wafer W, and bottom coatingunits 23 and 24 each for forming an anti-reflection film that preventsreflection of light during exposure processing, are five-tiered in orderfrom the bottom. In the second processing unit group G2, solutiontreatment units, for example, developing treatment units 30 to 34 eachfor supplying a developing solution to the wafer W to develop it arefive-tiered in order from the bottom. Further, chemical chambers 40 and41 for supplying various kinds of treatment solutions to the solutiontreatment units in the processing unit groups G1 and G2 are provided atthe lowermost tiers of the first processing unit group G1 and the secondprocessing unit group G2, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third processing unit group G3, for example,the temperature regulating unit 60, the transition unit 61 for passingthe wafer W, high-precision temperature regulating units 62 to 64 eachfor temperature-regulating the wafer W under a high precisiontemperature control, and high-temperature thermal processing units 65 to68 each for heat-processing the wafer W at a high temperature, arenine-tiered in order from the bottom.

In the fourth processing unit group G4, for example, a high-precisiontemperature regulating unit 70, pre-baking units 71 to 74 each forheat-processing the wafer W after resist coating treatment, andpost-baking units 75 to 79 each for heat-processing the wafer W afterdeveloping treatment, are ten-tiered in order from the bottom.

In the fifth processing unit group G5, a plurality of thermal processingunits each for thermally processing the wafer W, for example,high-precision temperature regulating units 80 to 83, and post-exposurebaking units (hereinafter, referred to as “PEB units”) 84 to 89 each forheat-processing the wafer W after exposure and before development, areten-tiered in order from the bottom.

The PEB units 84 to 89 each include, for example, a thermal plate 90, asshown in FIG. 4, as a thermal processing plate for mounting and heatingthe wafer W thereon. The thermal plate 90 has an almost disk shape witha large thickness. The thermal plate 90 is divided into a plurality of,for example, five thermal plate regions R₁, R₂, R₃, R4 and R₅. Thethermal plate 90 is divided, for example, into the circular thermalplate region R₁ which is located at the central portion as seen in planview and the thermal plate regions R₂ to R₅ which are made by equallydividing the peripheral portion around the thermal plate region R₁ intofour sectors.

A heater 91 generating heat by power feeding is individually embedded ineach of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90 andcan heat each of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅. The heating valueof each of the heaters 91 of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ isadjusted, for example, by a temperature controller 92. The temperaturecontroller 92 can adjust the heating value of the heater 91 to controlthe temperature of each of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ to apredetermined set temperature. The temperature setting in thetemperature controller 92 is performed, for example, by alater-described temperature setting apparatus 150.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the positive direction side in the X-direction tothe first transfer unit 10, a plurality of processing and treatmentunits are arranged, for example, adhesion units 100 and 101 each forperforming hydrophobic treatment on the wafer W being two-tiered inorder from the bottom as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 1, on thepositive side in the X-direction to the second transfer unit 111, forexample, an edge exposure unit 102 is disposed which selectively exposesonly the edge portion of the wafer W to light.

In the interface section 4, for example, a wafer transfer body 111moving on a transfer path 110 extending in the X-direction and a buffercassette 112 are provided as shown in FIG. 1. The wafer transfer body111 is movable in the vertical direction and also rotatable in theθ-direction, and thus can access the not-shown aligner adjacent to theinterface section 4, the buffer cassette 112, and the fifth processingunit group G5 and transfer the wafer W to them.

In the coating and developing treatment system 1 configured as describedabove, a series of wafer processing in the photolithography process asfollows is performed. The unprocessed wafers W are first taken out bythe wafer transfer body 7 one by one from the cassette C on the cassettemounting table 5, and successively transferred to the temperatureregulating unit 60 in the third processing unit group G3. The wafer Wtransferred to the temperature regulating unit 60 istemperature-regulated to a predetermined temperature, and is thentransferred by the first transfer unit 10 to the bottom coating unit 23where an anti-reflection film is formed. The wafer W having theanti-reflection film formed thereon is transferred by the first transferunit 10 to the high-temperature thermal processing unit 65 and thehigh-precision temperature regulating unit 70 in sequence so thatpredetermined processing is performed in each of the units.

Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the resist coating unit 20,where a resist film is formed on the wafer W. The wafer is thentransferred by the first transfer unit 10 to the pre-baking unit 71 andsubjected to pre-baking. The wafer is subsequently transferred by thesecond transfer unit 11 to the edge exposure unit 102 and thehigh-precision temperature regulating unit 83 in sequence so that thewafer W is subjected to predetermined processing in each of the units.The wafer W is then transferred by the wafer transfer body 111 in theinterface section 4 to the not-shown aligner, where the wafer W isexposed to light. The wafer W for which exposure processing has beenfinished is transferred by the wafer transfer body 111, for example, tothe PEB unit 84.

In the PEB unit 84, the wafer W is mounted on the thermal plate 90 whichhas been set to a predetermined temperature for each of the thermalplate regions R₁ to R₅ in advance to thereby be subjected topost-exposure baking.

The wafer W for which the post-exposure baking has been completed istransferred by the second transfer unit 11 to the high-precisiontemperature regulating unit 81, where the wafer W istemperature-regulated. The wafer W is then transferred to the developingtreatment unit 30, where the resist film on the wafer W is developed.The wafer W is then transferred by the second transfer unit 11 to thepost-baking unit 75, where the wafer W is subjected to post-baking. Thewafer W is then transferred to the high-precision temperature regulatingunit 63, where the wafer W is temperature-regulated. The wafer W is thentransferred by the first transfer unit 10 to the transition unit 61 andreturned to the cassette C by the wafer transfer body 7, thus completingthe photolithography process being a series of wafer processing.

Incidentally, a line width measuring unit 120 for measuring the linewidth of a resist pattern as the processing state within the wafer isprovided as shown in FIG. 1 in the above-described coating anddeveloping treatment system 1. The line width measuring unit 120 isprovided, for example, in the cassette station 2. The line widthmeasuring unit 120 includes, for example, a mounting table 121 forhorizontally mounting the wafer W thereon as shown in FIG. 5 and anoptical profilometer 122. The mounting table 121 forms, for example, anX-Y stage and can move in two dimensional directions in the horizontaldirections.

The optical profilometer 122 includes, for example, a light irradiationunit 123 for applying light to the wafer W from an oblique direction, alight detection unit 124 for detecting the light applied from the lightirradiation unit 123 and reflected by the wafer W, and a calculationunit 125 for calculating the line width of the resist pattern on thewafer W based on light reception information from the light detectionunit 124. The line width measuring unit 120 according to this embodimentis for measuring the line width of the resist pattern, for example,using the Scatterometry method, in which the line width of the resistpattern can be measured in the calculation unit 125 by checking thelight intensity distribution within the wafer detected by the lightdetection unit 124 against a virtual light intensity distribution storedin advance and obtaining a line width of the resist patterncorresponding to the checked virtual light intensity distribution.

The line width measuring unit 120 can measure the line widths at aplurality of locations within the wafer by horizontally moving the waferW relative to the light irradiation unit 123 and the light detectionunit 124. The measurement result of the line width measuring unit 120can be outputted, for example, from the calculation unit 125 to alater-described temperature setting apparatus 150.

Next, the configuration of the temperature setting apparatus 150 forperforming temperature setting of the thermal plate 90 in theabove-described PEB units 84 to 89 will be described. The temperaturesetting apparatus 150 is composed of, for example, a general-purposecomputer comprising a CPU and a memory. The temperature settingapparatus 150 is connected to the temperature controller 92 for thethermal plate 90 and the line width measuring unit 120 as shown in FIG.4 and FIG. 5.

The temperature setting apparatus 150 comprises, for example, as shownin FIG. 6, a computing unit 160 for executing various kinds of programs;an input unit 161 for inputting, for example, various kinds ofinformation for temperature setting of the thermal plate 90; a datastorage unit 162 for storing the various kinds of information fortemperature setting of the thermal plate 90; a program storage unit 163for storing the various kinds of programs for temperature setting of thethermal plate 90; and a communication unit 164 for communicating thevarious kinds of information for temperature setting of the thermalplate 90 with the temperature controller 92 and the line width measuringunit 120.

The program storage unit 163 stores, for example, a program P1 tocalculate, from measurement results of the line widths within the wafer,a plurality of in-plane tendency components Z_(i) (where i=1 to n, and nis an integer equal to or greater than 1) of the measured line widthswithin the wafer. The plurality of in-plane tendency components Z_(i)can be calculated by decomposing an in-plane tendency Z (the variationtendency within the wafer) of the measured line widths within the waferinto a plurality of components using a Zernike polynomial as shown inFIG. 7.

Adding here explanation about the Zernike polynomial, the Zernikepolynomial is a complex function on a unit circle with a radius of 1(practically used as a real function) which is often used in the opticalfield, and has arguments (r, θ) of polar coordinates. The Zernikepolynomial is mainly used to analyze the aberration component of a lensin the optical field, and the wavefront aberration is decomposed usingthe Zernike polynomial, whereby aberration components based on the shapeof each independent wavefront, for example, a mount shape, a saddleshape, or the like can be known.

In this embodiment, the line width measured values at many points withinthe wafer are expressed in the height direction above the wafer surfaceand the points of the line width measured values are connected by asmooth curved surface so that the in-plane tendency Z of the measuredline widths within the wafer is grasped as a vertically waivingwavefront. The in-plane tendency Z of the measured line widths withinthe wafer is then decomposed using the Zernike polynomial, for example,into a plurality of in-plane tendency components Z_(i), such as adeviation component in the Z-direction being the vertical direction, agradient component in the X-direction, a gradient component in theY-direction, and a curvature component convexly curving or concavelycurving. The magnitude of each of the in-plane tendency components Z_(i)can be expressed by the Zernike coefficient.

The Zernike coefficient indicating each of the in-plane tendencycomponents Z_(i) can be specifically expressed by the followingexpressions using the arguments (r, θ) of polar coordinates.

Z1 (1)

Z2 (r·cos θ)

Z3 (r·sin θ)

Z4 (2r²−1)

Z5 (r·cos 2θ)

Z6 (r²·sin 2θ)

Z7 ((3r³−2r)·cos θ)

Z8 ((3r³−2r)·sin θ)

Z9 (6r⁴−6r²+1)

and so on.

The Zernike coefficient Z1 indicates the line width average value withinthe wafer (the deviation component in the Z-direction), the Zernikecoefficient Z2 indicates the gradient component in the X-direction, theZernike coefficient Z3 indicates the gradient component in theY-direction, and the Zernike coefficients Z4, Z9 indicate the curvaturecomponents, for example, in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the data storage unit 162 stores, for example,Zernike coefficient number information I on in-plane tendency componentsZa_(i) (where i is an integer between 1 and n) improvable (variable) bychanging, for example, the temperature correction values for the thermalplate regions R₁ to R₅ of the in-plane tendency components Z_(i)decomposed from the in-plane tendency Z of the measured line widthswithin the wafer. For example, for the improvable in-plane tendencycomponents Za_(i), the temperatures of the respective thermal plateregions R₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90 are individually varied and theline widths within the wafer in that case are measured. The in-planetendency of the line widths in that case is decomposed using the Zernikepolynomial and in-plane tendency components which vary depending on thevariations in the set temperatures of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅are identified and regarded as the improvable in-plane tendencycomponents Za_(i).

The program storage unit 163 stores, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, aprogram P2 to calculate an improvable in-plane tendency Za in themeasured line widths within the wafer by identifying the improvablein-plane tendency components Za_(i) of the in-plane tendency componentsZ_(i) decomposed from the line width tendency Z of the measured linewidths within the wafer and adding up them.

The program storage unit 163 stores a program P3 to calculate atemperature correction value ΔT for each of the thermal plate regions R₁to R₅ to bring each of the in-plane tendency components Za_(i) of theimprovable in-plane tendency Za to 0 (ZERO), for example, from thefollowing relational expression (1).

ΔZ=M·ΔT  (1)

The calculation model M of the relational expression (1) is acorrelation matrix indicating the correlation between the variationamount (the change amount of each Zernike coefficient) ΔZ of eachin-plane tendency component Z_(i) of the line widths within the waferand the temperature correction value ΔT. Specifically, the calculationmodel M is a determinant of n (the number of in-plane tendencycomponents) rows by m (the number of thermal plate regions) columnsexpressed using the Zernike coefficients on a specific condition, forexample, as shown in FIG. 9.

The calculation model M is made by raising the temperature of each ofthe thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ in sequence by 1° C., measuring theline width variation amounts within the wafer in each case, calculatingthe variation amounts of the Zernike coefficients (the variation amountsof the in-plane tendency components) corresponding to the variationamounts of the line widths, and expressing the variation amounts of theZernike coefficients per unit temperature variation as elements M_(i,j)of the determinant (1≦i≦n, and 1≦j≦m (m=5 being the number of thermalplate regions in this embodiment)). Note that the in-plane tendencycomponent that does not vary even when the temperature of the thermalplate region is raised by 1° C. creates a variation amount of theZernike coefficient of 0 (ZERO), so that the element corresponding tothat is 0 (ZERO).

The relational expression (1) is expressed by the following expression(2) by multiplying both sides of the relational expression (1) by aninverse matrix M⁻¹ of the calculation model M.

ΔT=M ⁻¹ ·ΔZ  (2)

To bring each of the in-plane tendency components Za_(i) of theimprovable in-plane tendency Za to 0 (ZERO), a value obtained bymultiplying the value of each of the improvable in-plane tendencycomponents Za_(i) by −1 is substituted into the variation amount ΔZ ofthe in-plane tendency, and 0 (ZERO) is substituted into the otherunimprovable in-plane tendency components.

The program storage unit 163 stores a program P4 to calculate aremaining tendency Zc of an improvable in-plane tendency from thein-plane tendency Z of the measured line widths within the wafer afterimprovement by changing the setting of the temperature correction valuesfor the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅. The program storage unit 163also stores a program P5 to calculate an average remaining tendency Zdby obtaining a plurality of in-plane remaining tendencies Zc andaveraging them as shown in FIG. 10.

The program storage unit 163 stores, as shown in FIG. 11, a program P6to calculate an unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze by subtracting theimprovable in-plane tendency Za from the in-plane tendency Z of themeasured line widths within the wafer. The unimprovable in-planetendency Ze is the in-plane tendency which cannot be improved by thechange of the setting of the temperature correction values for thethermal plate regions R₁ to R₅. The program storage unit 163 furtherstores, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a program P7 to estimate anin-plane tendency Zf of the line widths within the wafer after change(after improvement) of the setting of the temperature correction valuesfor the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ by adding the above-describedaverage remaining tendency Zd to the unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze.

Note that the above-described various kinds of programs for embodyingthe temperature setting process by the temperature setting apparatus 150may be ones recorded on a recording medium such as a computer-readableCD and installed from the recording medium into the temperature settingapparatus 150.

Next, the temperature setting process by the temperature settingapparatus 150 configured as described above will be described.

First of all, a process in calculating the average remaining tendency Zdof the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement will be described.FIG. 13 shows a flowchart showing an example of the process ofcalculating the average remaining tendency Zd.

The wafer W for which the above-described series of wafer processing hasbeen finished in the coating and developing treatment system 1, forexample, is transferred into the line width measuring unit 120 in thecassette station 2, where the line widths of the resist pattern withinthe wafer W are measured (Step S1 in FIG. 13). In this event, the linewidths at a plurality of measurement points Q within the wafer as shownin FIG. 14 are measured to measure at least the line widths in waferregions W₁, W₂, W₃, W₄, and W₅ corresponding to the respective thermalplate regions R₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90.

The measurement results of the line widths within the wafer areoutputted to the temperature setting apparatus 150. In the temperaturesetting apparatus 150, for example, from measured values of the linewidths at the plurality of measurement points Q in the wafer regions W₁to W₅, the in-plane tendency Z of the measured line widths within thewafer is calculated, and the plurality of in-plane tendency componentsZ_(i) (i=1 to n) are calculated from the in-plane tendency Z using theZernike polynomial as shown in FIG. 7 (Step S2 in FIG. 13).

Subsequently, the improvable in-plane tendency components Za_(i)obtained in advance are extracted from the plurality of in-planetendency components Z_(i) as shown in FIG. 8 and added together. Thus,the improvable in-plane tendency Za of the measured line widths withinthe wafer is calculated (Step S3 in FIG. 13).

Then, the temperature correction values ΔT for the thermal plate regionsR₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90 are calculated. For example, theabove-described value obtained by multiplying each of the in-planetendency components Za_(i) of the improvable in-plane tendency Za by −1is substituted into the term of ΔZ of the relational expression (2) asshown in FIG. 15. For the unimprovable in-plane tendency component, 0(ZERO) is substituted. This relational expression (2) is used to findthe temperature correction values ΔT₁, ΔT₂, ΔT₃, ΔT₄, and ΔT₅ for thethermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ to bring the components Za_(i) of theimprovable in-plane tendency Za to 0 (ZERO) (Step S4 in FIG. 13).

Thereafter, the information on each of the temperature correction valuesΔT₁ to ΔT₅ is outputted from the communication unit 164 to thetemperature controller 92, and the set temperatures of the thermal plateregions R₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90 in the temperature controller92 are changed to new temperature correction values ΔT₁ to ΔT₅ (Step S5in FIG. 13).

After the setting has been changed to the new temperature correctionvalues ΔT₁ to ΔT₅, a series of wafer processing is performed again inthe coating and developing treatment system 1, and the line widths ofthe resist pattern within the wafer are measured. From the measured linewidths within the wafer, the in-plane tendency Z thereof is calculated,and the plurality of in-plane tendency components Z_(i) (i=1 to n) arecalculated from the in-plane tendency Z using the Zernike polynomial asin the above-described Step S2. Subsequently, the improvable in-planetendency components Za_(i) are extracted from the plurality of in-planetendency components Z_(i) and added together to calculate the improvablein-plane tendency within the wafer. This in-plane tendency is theremaining tendency Zc of the improvable in-plane tendency afterimprovement by the above-described change of the temperature setting(Step S6 in FIG. 13). Thus, the in-plane tendency Za improvable by theabove-described change of the temperature setting is not completelybrought to 0 (ZERO) but a portion thereof remains as the remainingtendency Zc. This remaining tendency Zc is stored, for example, in thedata storage unit 162.

Thereafter, the process of changing the setting of the temperaturecorrection values (Step S1 to Step S5) are performed a plurality ofnumber of times so that the remaining tendency Zc is calculated everytime and stored in the data storage unit 162. The plurality of remainingtendencies Zc are averaged as shown in FIG. 10 to calculate the averageremaining tendency Zd (Step S7 in FIG. 13).

Next, a process of estimating the in-plane tendency Zf of the linewidths within the wafer after the change of the temperature setting inthe temperature setting process of the temperature correction values forthe thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ will be described.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the process of estimatingthe in-plane tendency Zf after the change of the temperature setting.

First of all, the current line widths of the resist pattern within thewafer are measured for the wafer W, for example, for which a series ofwafer processing has been completed in the coating and developingtreatment system 1 (Step K1 in FIG. 16). Then, based on the measurementresults of the line widths within the wafer, the current in-planetendency Z of the measured line widths within the wafer is calculated,and the plurality of in-plane tendency components Z_(i) (i=1 to n) arecalculated from the in-plane tendency Z using the Zernike polynomial asin the above-described step S2. Subsequently, the improvable in-planetendency components Za_(i) are extracted from the plurality of in-planetendency components Z_(i) and added together to calculate the improvablein-plane tendency Za within the wafer. Then, the improvable in-planetendency Za is subtracted from the in-plane tendency Z of the measuredline widths to calculate the unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze as shownin FIG. 11. Thus, the improvable in-plane tendency Za and theunimprovable in-plane tendency Ze are calculated from the measured linewidths within the wafer (Step K2 in FIG. 16). Then, the in-planetendency Zf of the line widths after the change of the temperaturesetting is calculated by adding the average remaining tendency Zdobtained in advance to the unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze as shown inFIG. 12 (Step K3 in FIG. 16).

In the above embodiment, the in-plane tendency Zf of the line widthsafter the change of the temperature setting is estimated by subtractingthe improvable in-plane tendency Za from the current in-plane tendency Zof the measured line widths within the wafer to calculate theunimprovable in-plane tendency Ze, and adding the average remainingtendency Zd obtained in advance to the unimprovable in-plane tendencyZe. If all the improvable in-plane tendency Za of the current in-planetendency Z can be improved, the in-plane tendency Zf after theimprovement matches with the unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze, but itis difficult to completely bring the improvable in-plane tendency Zaafter improvement to 0 (ZERO). For this reason, the average remainingtendency Zd of the remaining tendencies Zc of the improvable in-planetendencies remaining after improvement is obtained in advance and addedto the unimprovable in-plane tendency Ze for correction, so that thein-plane tendency Zf of the line widths after the change of thetemperature setting can be estimated very accurately. As a result,unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to change the setting of thetemperature correction values may times, making it possible to performthe temperature setting of the thermal plate 90 properly and in a shorttime.

According to the above embodiment, in calculating the improvablein-plane tendency Za, the in-plane tendency Z of the measured linewidths within the wafer is decomposed into the plurality of in-planetendency components Z_(i) using the Zernike polynomial, and theimprovable in-plane tendency components Za_(i) of the plurality ofin-plane tendency components Z_(i) are added together to calculate theimprovable in-plane tendency Za, whereby the calculation of theimprovable in-plane tendency Za is accurately and easily performed.

Since the improvable in-plane tendency Za is subtracted from thein-plane tendency Z of the line widths within the wafer to calculate theunimprovable in-plane tendency Ze in the above-described embodiment, theunimprovable in-plane tendency Ze can be accurately and easilycalculated.

Further, since, when changing the temperature correction values ΔT ofthe thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅, the calculation model M of therelational expression (1) is used to calculate the temperaturecorrection values ΔT₁ to ΔT₅ for the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ tobring each of the improvable in-plane tendency components Za_(i) to 0(ZERO) and the calculated temperature correction values ΔT₁ to ΔT₅ areset to the temperatures of the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅, the linewidth in-plane tendency improved as much as possible can be obtained inthe wafer processing after temperature correction. Accordingly, auniform line width within the wafer can be formed. Particularly, sincethe thermal processing performed in the PEB unit 84 greatly affects theline width of the finally formed resist pattern by the photolithographyprocess, the effect by performing the temperature setting of the thermalplate 90 of the PEB unit 84 by the method is profound.

Though the calculation of the improvable in-plane tendency Za and thecalculation of the temperature correction values ΔT for the thermalplate regions R₁ to R₅ are performed using the Zernike polynomial, theymay be performed using other methods.

The in-plane tendency of the measured line widths within the wafer isindicated by expressing line width measured values D at the plurality ofmeasurement points Q within the wafer in the height direction above thewafer surface, for example, as shown in FIG. 17. The line width measuredvalues D at the plurality of measurement points Q are projected to avertical plane including an X-axis, for example, as shown in FIG. 18,and a gradient component Fx in the X-direction being one of the in-planetendency components is calculated from the distribution of the linewidth measured values D using the least square method. The line widthmeasured values D at the plurality of measurement points Q are projectedto a vertical plane including a Y-axis as shown in FIG. 18, and agradient component Fy in the Y-direction being one of the in-planetendency components is calculated from the distribution of the linewidth measured values D using the least square method. Furthermore, aconvex curvature component Fz being one of the in-plane tendencycomponents is calculated as shown in FIG. 20 by subtracting the gradientcomponent Fx in the X-direction and the gradient component Fy in theY-direction from the whole in-plane tendency of the line width measuredvalues D. For example, these in-plane tendency components Fx, Fy, and Fzare added together to calculate an improvable in-plane tendency Fa.

When calculating the temperature correction values ΔT for the thermalplate regions R₁ to R₅, the temperature correction values ΔT for thethermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ are calculated to bring each of thein-plane tendency components Fx, Fy, and Fz to 0 (ZERO) from theimprovable in-plane tendency Fa, for example, by the followingrelational expression (3).

ΔF=M·ΔT  (3)

The calculation model M of the relational expression (3) is acorrelation matrix indicating the correlation between the variationamount AF of each of the in-plane tendency components Fx, Fy, and Fz ofthe line widths within the wafer and the temperature correction valuesΔT.

A value obtained by multiplying the value of each of the tendencycomponents Fx, Fy, and Fz by −1 is substituted into the term of ΔF ofthe relational expression (3) to obtain the temperature correctionvalues ΔT₁ to ΔT₅ for the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅.

Even in this case, the calculation of the improvable in-plane tendencyZa and the temperature correction values ΔT is accurately performed,with the result that the in-plane tendency Zf of the line widths withinthe wafer after the change of the temperature setting can be accuratelyand properly estimated to performed the temperature setting processproperly and in a short time.

Incidentally, the change of the temperature setting of the thermal plate90 described in the above embodiment may be performed, for example, onlywhen the magnitude of the improvable in-plane tendency Za calculatedfrom the in-plane tendency Z of the measured line widths within thewafer (the degree of variations) exceeds a predetermined thresholdvalue.

In this case, every several wafers W which are being successivelyprocessed in the coating and developing treatment system 1 areperiodically subjected to line width measurement. From the in-planetendency Z of the measured line widths within the wafer obtained by theline width measurement, the improvable in-plane tendency Za iscalculated, and whether or not the value of 3σ (sigma) indicating themagnitude of the calculated improvable in-plane tendency Za exceeds athreshold value which has been set in advance is judged.

When 3σ of the improvable in-plane tendency Za is equal to or smallerthan the threshold value L as shown at (a) in FIG. 21, the change of thetemperature correction values ΔT for the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅is not performed, whereas when 3σ of the improvable in-plane tendency Zaexceeds the threshold value L as shown at (b) in FIG. 21, the change ofthe temperature correction values ΔT for the thermal plate regions R₁ toR₅ of the thermal plate 90 is performed.

According to this example, whether or not 3σ of the improvable in-planetendency Za of the in-plane tendency Z of the measured line widthswithin the wafer exceeds the threshold value L which has been set inadvance is judged, and when it exceeds, the temperature correctionvalues ΔT for the thermal plate regions R₁ to R₅ of the thermal plate 90are changed, so that the timing of changing the setting of thetemperature correction values ΔT can be stabilized irrespective of, forexample, the experience and knowledge of an operator. Further, since thechange of the temperature correction values ΔT is performed only whenthe improvable in-plane tendency Za is large, the temperature correctionvalues ΔT are not changed in an unnecessary case, thus making itpossible to make the timing of changing the setting of the temperaturecorrection values ΔT appropriate.

Note that while the necessity of changing the temperature setting isjudged depending on whether or not 3σ of the improvable in-planetendency Za exceeds the threshold value L in this example, the necessityof changing the temperature setting may be judged by expressing themagnitude of the improvable in-plane tendency Za in a difference betweenthe maximum value and the minimum value within the wafer and comparingthe difference to its threshold value.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described abovewith reference to the accompanying drawings, and the present inventionis not limited to the embodiment. It should be understood that variouschanges and modifications within the scope of the spirit as set forth inclaims are readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thoseshould also be covered by the technical scope of the present invention.

While the thermal plate 90 to be temperature-set is divided into fiveregions in the above embodiment, any number of divisions can beselected. The shapes of the divided regions of the thermal plate 90 canalso be arbitrarily selected. While the above embodiment is an examplein which the temperature setting of the thermal plate 90 of the PEB unit84 is performed based on the line widths within the wafer, the presentinvention is also applicable to a case of performing the temperaturesetting of a thermal plate for performing other thermal processingplaced in a pre-baking unit, a post-baking unit or the like and thetemperature setting of a cooling plate of a cooling unit for cooling thewafer W. Further, while the temperature setting of the thermal plate isperformed based on the line widths within the wafer in the aboveembodiment, the temperature setting of a thermal processing plate of aPEB unit, a pre-baking unit or a post-baking unit based on theprocessing state other than the line width within the wafer, such as theangle of the side wall in the groove of the resist pattern (the sidewall angle) or the film thickness of the resist pattern.

Further, while the temperature setting of the thermal plate is performedbased on the line width of a pattern after the photolithography processand before the etching process in the above embodiment, the temperaturesetting of the thermal processing plate may be performed based on theline width or the side wall angle of the pattern after the etchingprocess. Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable totemperature setting of a thermal processing plate for thermallyprocessing substrates other than the wafer, such as an FPD (Flat PanelDisplay), a mask reticle for a photomask, and the like.

The present invention is useful in performing the temperature setting ofa thermal processing plate for mounting and thermally processing asubstrate thereon.

1. A temperature setting method of a thermal processing plate formounting and thermally processing a substrate thereon, the thermalprocessing plate being divided into a plurality of regions, atemperature being settable for each of the regions, and a temperaturecorrection value for adjusting an in-plane temperature being settablefor each of the regions, said method comprising the steps of: measuringprocessing states within the substrate for the substrate which has beensubjected to a series of substrate processing including the thermalprocessing, and calculating, from an in-plane tendency of the substrateof the measured processing states, an in-plane tendency improvable bychanging the temperature correction value for each of the regions of thethermal processing plate and an unimprovable in-plane tendency; andadding an average remaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendencyafter improvement to the calculated unimprovable in-plane tendency toestimate an in-plane tendency of the processing states after change ofthe temperature correction values for the thermal processing plate, andthe average remaining tendency being calculated through the followingsteps of: a first step of measuring processing states within thesubstrate for the substrate which has been subjected to substrateprocessing, and calculating, from an in-plane tendency of the substrateof the measured processing states, an in-plane tendency improvable bychanging the temperature correction value for each of the regions of thethermal processing plate; a second step of calculating, from thecalculated improvable in-plane tendency, the temperature correctionvalue for each of the regions of the thermal processing plate to bringthe improvable in-plane tendency to 0 (ZERO) using a calculation modelobtained in advance from a correlation between the improvable in-planetendency and the temperature correction values; a third step of changinga set temperature of each of the regions of the thermal processing plateto the calculated temperature correction value; a fourth step ofcalculating a remaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendencyafter improvement by changing the set temperature to the temperaturecorrection value; and a fifth step of averaging the remaining tendenciescalculated in a plurality of number of times of performance of saidfirst to fourth steps.
 2. The temperature setting method of a thermalprocessing plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein in calculating theremaining tendency after improvement, the processing states within thesubstrate are measured for a substrate which has been subjected tosubstrate processing after improvement, and, from the in-plane tendencyof the substrate of the measured processing states, an improvablein-plane tendency is calculated and regarded as the remaining tendencyafter improvement.
 3. The temperature setting method of a thermalprocessing plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein in calculating theimprovable in-plane tendency, the in-plane tendency of the substrate ofthe measured processing states is decomposed to a plurality of in-planetendency components using a Zernike polynomial, and in-plane tendencycomponents improvable by changing the temperature correction value foreach of the regions of the thermal processing plate of the plurality ofin-plane tendency components are added to calculate the improvablein-plane tendency.
 4. The temperature setting method of a thermalprocessing plate as set forth in claim 3, wherein the unimprovablein-plane tendency is calculated by subtracting the calculated improvablein-plane tendency from the in-plane tendency of the substrate of themeasured processing states.
 5. The temperature setting method of athermal processing plate as set forth in claim 3, wherein in calculatingthe temperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate, the temperature correction value for each of theregions of the thermal processing plate to bring each of the improvablein-plane tendency components to 0 (ZERO) is calculated using acalculation model indicating a correlation between change amounts of theplurality of in-plane tendency components within the substrate and thetemperature correction values.
 6. The temperature setting method of athermal processing plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the series ofsubstrate processing is processing of forming a resist pattern on thesubstrate in a photolithography process.
 7. The temperature settingmethod of a thermal processing plate as set forth in claim 6, whereinthe processing states within the substrate are line widths of the resistpattern.
 8. The temperature setting method of a thermal processing plateas set forth in claim 6, wherein the thermal processing is heatingprocessing performed after exposure processing and before developingtreatment.
 9. A computer-readable recording medium recording a computerprogram thereon for controlling a temperature setting method of athermal processing plate when mounting and thermally processing asubstrate thereon, the thermal processing plate being divided into aplurality of regions, a temperature being settable for each of theregions, and a temperature correction value for adjusting an in-planetemperature being settable for each of the regions, said methodcomprising the steps of: measuring processing states within thesubstrate for the substrate which has been subjected to a series ofsubstrate processing including the thermal processing, and calculating,from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processingstates, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing the temperaturecorrection value for each of the regions of the thermal processing plateand an unimprovable in-plane tendency; and adding an average remainingtendency of the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement to thecalculated unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate an in-planetendency of the processing states after change of the temperaturecorrection values for the thermal processing plate, and the averageremaining tendency being calculated through the following steps of: afirst step of measuring processing states within the substrate for thesubstrate which has been subjected to substrate processing, andcalculating, from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measuredprocessing states, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing thetemperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate; a second step of calculating, from the calculatedimprovable in-plane tendency, the temperature correction value for eachof the regions of the thermal processing plate to bring the improvablein-plane tendency to 0 (ZERO) using a calculation model obtained inadvance from a correlation between the improvable in-plane tendency andthe temperature correction values; a third step of changing a settemperature of each of the regions of the thermal processing plate tothe calculated temperature correction value; a fourth step ofcalculating a remaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendencyafter improvement by changing the set temperature to the temperaturecorrection value; and a fifth step of averaging the remaining tendenciescalculated in a plurality of number of times of performance of saidfirst to fourth steps.
 10. A temperature setting apparatus for setting atemperature of a thermal processing plate when mounting and thermallyprocessing a substrate thereon, the thermal processing plate beingdivided into a plurality of regions, a temperature being settable foreach of the regions, and a temperature correction value for adjusting anin-plane temperature being settable for each of the regions, saidtemperature setting apparatus including a computing unit for performingthe following processes of: measuring processing states within thesubstrate for the substrate which has been subjected to a series ofsubstrate processing including the thermal processing, and calculating,from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processingstates, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing the temperaturecorrection value for each of the regions of the thermal processing plateand an unimprovable in-plane tendency; and adding an average remainingtendency of the improvable in-plane tendency after improvement to thecalculated unimprovable in-plane tendency to estimate an in-planetendency of the processing states after change of the temperaturecorrection values for the thermal processing plate, and the averageremaining tendency being calculated through the following steps of: afirst step of measuring processing states within the substrate for thesubstrate which has been subjected to substrate processing, andcalculating, from an in-plane tendency of the substrate of the measuredprocessing states, an in-plane tendency improvable by changing thetemperature correction value for each of the regions of the thermalprocessing plate; a second step of calculating, from the calculatedimprovable in-plane tendency, the temperature correction value for eachof the regions of the thermal processing plate to bring the improvablein-plane tendency to 0 (ZERO) using a calculation model obtained inadvance from a correlation between the improvable in-plane tendency andthe temperature correction values; a third step of changing a settemperature of each of the regions of the thermal processing plate tothe calculated temperature correction value; a fourth step ofcalculating a remaining tendency of the improvable in-plane tendencyafter improvement by changing the set temperature to the temperaturecorrection value; and a fifth step of averaging the remaining tendenciescalculated in a plurality of number of times of performance of saidfirst to fourth steps.
 11. The temperature setting apparatus for athermal processing plate as set forth in claim 10, wherein incalculating the remaining tendency after improvement, the processingstates within the substrate are measured for a substrate which has beensubjected to substrate processing after improvement, and, from thein-plane tendency of the substrate of the measured processing states, animprovable in-plane tendency is calculated and regarded as the remainingtendency after improvement.
 12. The temperature setting apparatus for athermal processing plate as set forth in claim 10, wherein incalculating the improvable in-plane tendency, the in-plane tendency ofthe substrate of the measured processing states is decomposed to aplurality of in-plane tendency components using a Zernike polynomial,and in-plane tendency components improvable by changing the temperaturecorrection value for each of the regions of the thermal processing plateof the plurality of in-plane tendency components are added to calculatethe improvable in-plane tendency.
 13. The temperature setting apparatusfor a thermal processing plate as set forth in claim 12, wherein theunimprovable in-plane tendency is calculated by subtracting thecalculated improvable in-plane tendency from the in-plane tendency ofthe substrate of the measured processing states.
 14. The temperaturesetting apparatus for a thermal processing plate as set forth in claim12, wherein in calculating the temperature correction value for each ofthe regions of the thermal processing plate, the temperature correctionvalue for each of the regions of the thermal processing plate to bringeach of the improvable in-plane tendency components to 0 (ZERO) iscalculated using a calculation model indicating a correlation betweenchange amounts of the plurality of in-plane tendency components withinthe substrate and the temperature correction values.
 15. The temperaturesetting apparatus for a thermal processing plate as set forth in claim10, wherein the series of substrate processing is processing of forminga resist pattern on the substrate in a photolithography process.
 16. Thetemperature setting apparatus for a thermal processing plate as setforth in claim 15, wherein the processing states within the substrateare line widths of the resist pattern.
 17. The temperature settingapparatus for a thermal processing plate as set forth in claim 15,wherein the thermal processing is heating processing performed afterexposure processing and before developing treatment.